Helen Lehndorf
writer
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the birthday cloth
I enjoy ironing. I think if you like to sew, you have to like to iron because ironing is such an key part of sewing. I even have a poem about ironing in my book, called ‘Sunday Night’. It doesn’t mean all my clothes are perfectly ironed, because I am a haphazard ironer. I only…
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grow your own way
In autumn I planted a whole lot of bulbs: ranunculus, freesias, gladioli…and the other day the first of my ranunculus flowered. I bought all white bulbs, as I’d planned to have all white flowers in pots on the porch for added cooling effect, come summer. As you can, see not all of the bulbs came…
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travel in a tin
Often when I mooch around a deli it is the food packaging that catches my eye more than the contents. Chillies from Mexico… Smoked paprika from Spain… Plain old tinned tomatoes from Italy…but somehow the Italians manage to make a quotidian product look appealing. Those bold, shiny tomatoes against that black background. Whoar! (Although this…
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my journals keep me
Do you keep a journal? Sometimes I feel like my journals keep me. They keep me sane, keep me engaged, keep me feeling creative even when I don’t have time for larger creative endeavours. I’ve been teaching journal-writing for years. Teaching is a good reminder to me in how important it is to keep on with…
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teaching your mother to suck oranges
I was sitting across from Magnus watching him eat his dessert which was, that night, two cut-up oranges. Magnus was really eating those oranges. He was so present in his enjoyment – he was sucking every drop of juice and had the fixed stare of someone experiencing great sensory pleasure. I love that about children.…
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beach treasures
One of our favourite things to do as a family is visit a body of water – be it creek, river, lake or sea. We tend to split into two camps – the stone throwers and the foragers. Magnus and Fraser are the stone throwers. Fraser likes to skim stones, so actually, he has to…
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this is a post about the rugby world cup (kind of)
There’s a Rugby World Cup on. I’ve noticed it more than I might usually because in my new job at the Palmerston North City Library, we are hosting public screenings of many of the matches which means I’ve been tying up flag bunting and making party food. (Who would have thought I could feel ambivalent…
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there is no perfect time to do anything
I’m working two jobs, my garden is a weedy mess, in a week it is the school holidays, I have nearly 100 essays to grade, I’m training to teach yoga, lately I only get to see my husband at bedtime… …golly gee, I think I might publish a book. While I’m at it, why…
Helen Lehndorf 